Darkness
by Sophie-Lou
Summary: On the way home Jack gives Ralph Piggy's glasses.


'_Ralph wept for the end of childhood, the darkness of man's heart and the fall through the air of the true and wise friend Piggy.'_

He always said that the fire was the most important thing. Without fire they would not be rescued. There was lesson to be learnt from that. Jack had been blinded to the entire situation through his one-track mind of hunting and meat. Like a caveman he bounded through the jungle pouching the wild boar to death. Had he gone on there would be no meat and he would have lost his purpose; the island was big to twelve year olds but small to nature. It was the ultimate irony that it was Jack's tribe's desire to hunt and kill him that finally encouraged them to light a fire.

Ralph knew that as he felt the humanity die slowly and slowly around him, even in his own heart. It seemed to die completely the moment Piggy died, the true and wise lower class Piggy whose real name still remained a mystery to him. He had died clutching the last hold of law and order to him, the conch. The broken conch meant the breaking of order. The death of Piggy meant the death of reason. What happened to the voice of reason in Roger when he chose to snuff out the life of humanity personified so intentionally? Could it be that such darkness had always lived in his heart? Either way that darkness was something he would have to live with forever. They all had to live with the guilt of witnessing and causing the death of wise Piggy and shy Simon.

As they got on the boat Jack had hastily leant over the side to wash the savage make-up off. It was as if it had all been just a game. He changed straight away, back to the choir boy who had walked down the beach on that first day when they realised they were on an uninhabited island. It was as if it didn't matter. It seemed that childhood had not died in Jack's heart but was ever present; he could wipe of the battle make-up and pretend for a while it had been a game. But there was darkness in that heart too along with the knowledge of what he had seen and ordered on his fellow children. They had seen horrors that the grown-ups couldn't understand. They had not seen such things when they were twelve.

"You wanted to kill me" Ralph said suddenly to Jack.

Jack looked at him, "It was just a game."

"You sharpened the spear at both ends," he said again. "You wanted to kill me."

"Shut up!"

"You wanted to kill me like you killed Simon."

"It was an accident."

"You killed Piggy, too."

"Piggy, Piggy, Piggy; I didn't kill Piggy."

"You stole his specs. That was a dirty trick." And now your hands are dirty with blood, though Ralph. He wanted to cry again. There was such darkness. There was guilt in Jack, he could tell but there was denial, too. Roger was sitting not too far away, listening but he showed no remorse whatsoever. He just sat and looked with no emotion. He looked at Roger and said again, "A filthy, dirty trick!"

"I didn't steal his specs" said Roger.

Ralph stared at him. What was going through his head? It was as if the stealing of the specs mattered more than the death.

At that moment Jack handed Ralph something. It was the specs. They were scratched, broken and close to falling apart complete from Jack's attack on Piggy to running through the forest after Ralph with them. But still there they were, the precious fire giving specs worn by the voice of reason who Ralph had poked fun at and told to shut up so many times. Yet he had always stayed loyal to him. When everything went pear-shaped he never left his side. Had Piggy been born with a different body, that was stronger, taller and had not been hindered by bad eyes, he would have been the leader. The way he held that conch it was as if he had been given a voice. People would listen to him. He had clutched the conch to him before he died and spoke with the reason of a grown-up. His wisdom went above Jack's head. The wiser he became the more primitive the second tribe became. He stood up despite not being able to see and spoke up to the beasts of that island. At least he didn't see the bolder coming…

"He was stronger than you in the end" Ralph said looking up from Piggy's specs. He spoke to Jack, to Roger and to himself. He spoke to any of the other kids who might be listening. "He never forgot the rules and he stood up to you even though you stole his eyes. He was braver than us in the end."

Jack said nothing. He was too ashamed.

"I still didn't steal his glasses," said Roger.

Ralph looked at him with complete contempt, "You broke the conch."


End file.
